Just Methods An Interdisciplinary Feminist Reader Supplemented with a New Introduction and Chapter on Learning from Practice Edited by Alison M. Jaggar First published 2014 by Paradigm Publishers Published 2016 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN 711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017, USA Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business Copyright © 2014, Taylor & Francis. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Just methods : an interdisciplinary feminist reader / [edited by] Alison M. Jaggar.—2nd edition. pages cm Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-1-61205-303-5 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Women’s studies—Methodology. 2. Women—Research—Methodology. 3. Research—Methodology. 4. Research—Moral and ethical aspects. 5. Feminist theory. I. Jaggar, Alison M. HQ1180.J87 2014 305.42072—dc23 2013011443 Designed and Typeset by Straight Creek Bookmakers. ISBN 13 : 978-1-61205-303-5 (pbk) Contents Acknowledgments vi Introduction: The Project of Feminist Methodology vii PART I. FEMINIST CRITIQUES OF METHODOLOGY 1 The Humanities 3 Joan Kelly-Gadol, “The Social Relation of the Sexes: Methodological Implications of Women’s History” 6 Janice Moulton, “A Paradigm of Philosophy: The Adversary Method” 13 Paula Gunn Allen, “Kochinnenako in Academe: Three Approaches to Interpreting a Keres Indian Tale” 21 2 The Social Sciences 34 Dorothy E. Smith, “Women’s Perspective as a Radical Critique of Sociology” 39 Toby Epstein Jayaratne and Abigail J. Stewart, “Quantitative and Qualitative Methods in the Social Sciences: Current Feminist Issues and Practical Strategies” 44 Linda Tuhiwai Smith, “Research through Imperial Eyes” 58 3 Economics 68 Diana Strassmann, “Not a Free Market: The Rhetoric of Disciplinary Authority in Economics” 72 Lourdes Benería, “Paid and Unpaid Labor: Meanings and Debates” 80 Marilyn Waring, “Counting for Something! Recognizing Women’s Contribution to the Global Economy through Alternative Accounting Systems” 97 4 Human Biology 105 Jennifer Terry, “Lesbians under the Medical Gaze: Scientists Search for Remarkable Differences” 108 iii iv Contents Stephen Jay Gould, “Critique of The Bell Curve” 118 Elisabeth A. Lloyd, “Bias in the Science of Evolution” 130 5 The Health Sciences 147 Geri L. Dickson, “Metaphors of Menopause: The Metalanguage of Menopause Research” 151 Karen Messing, “Don’t Use a Wrench to Peel Potatoes: Biological Science Constructed on Male Model Systems Is a Risk to Women Workers’ Health” 163 W. A. Rogers, “Evidence-Based Medicine and Justice: A Framework for Looking at the Impact of EBM upon Vulnerable or Disadvantaged Groups” 182 6 Feminist Studies 191 Maxine Baca Zinn, Lynn Weber Cannon, Elizabeth Higginbotham, and Bonnie Thornton Dill, “The Costs of Exclusionary Practices in Women’s Studies” 198 Bette S. Tallen, “How Inclusive Is Feminist Political Theory? Questions for Lesbians” 205 Uma Narayan, “Dislocating Cultures: Identities, Traditions, and Third World Feminism’” 213 PART II. FEMINISTS RETHINKING METHODOLOGY 7 Feminist Naturalism: Do Women Have Distinctive Ways of Knowing? 229 Mary Field Belenky, Blythe McVicker Clinchy, Nancy Rule Goldberger, and Jill Mattuck Tarule, “Procedural Knowledge: Separate and Connected Knowing” 235 Patricia Hill Collins, “Black Feminist Epistemology” 247 Nancy Tuana, “Revaluing Science: Starting from the Practices of Women” 257 8 Feminist Empiricism: Experience and Interpretation 268 Joan W. Scott, “‘Experience’” 272 Renée T. White, “Talking about Sex and HIV: Conceptualizing a New Sociology of Experience” 282 Lorraine Code, “Incredulity, Experientialism, and the Politics of Knowledge” 290 9 Feminist Standpoint Theory: Social Location and Epistemic Privilege 303 Patricia Hill Collins, “Learning from the Outsider Within: The Sociological Significance of Black Feminist Thought” 308 Maria Mies, “The Need for a New Vision: The Subsistence Perspective” 320 Contents v Sandra Harding, “Borderlands Epistemologies” 331 10 Feminist Postmodernism: Knowledges as Partial, Contingent, and Politically Informed 342 Donna Haraway, “Situated Knowledges: The Science Question in Feminism and the Privilege of Partial Perspective” 346 Nancy Fraser and Linda J. Nicholson, “Social Criticism without Philosophy: An Encounter between Feminism and Postmodernism” 352 Anne Opie, “Qualitative Research, Appropriation of the ‘Other’ and Empowerment” 362 11 Objectivity and Validation 374 Alison M. Jaggar, “Love and Knowledge: Emotion in Feminist Epistemology” 378 Helen Longino, “Values and Objectivity” 391 Naomi Scheman, “Epistemology Resuscitated: Objectivity as Trustworthiness” 401 12 Democratizing Research 414 Patricia Maguire, “Feminist Participatory Research” 417 Vandana Shiva, “Democratizing Biology: Reinventing Biology from a Feminist, Ecological, and Third World Perspective” 433 Jan Bootinand for the Global Alliance Against Traffic in Women, “Feminist Participatory Action Research in the Mekong Region” 445 13 Feminist Ethics in Research 457 Barrie Thorne, “‘You Still Takin’ Notes?’ Fieldwork and Problems of Informed Consent” 460 Naheed Islam, “Research as an Act of Betrayal: Researching Race in an Asian Community in Los Angeles” 471 Linda Alcoff, “The Problem of Speaking for Others” 484 14 Improving Methodology by Reflecting on Research Practice 496 Alison M. Jaggar and Scott Wisor, “Feminist Methodology in Practice: Learning from a Research Project” 498 Index 519 Credits 537 Acknowledgments This reader evolved from several years of teaching WMST 5190, a course in feminist method- ology required for the University of Colorado Graduate Certificate in Women’s Studies (now Women and Gender Studies). Teaching this class continues to be a wonderful experience for me and I am extremely grateful to all the lively and engaged graduate students who helped me to figure out which readings did and did not work and also made suggestions for readings that would work better. I am also grateful to many friends and colleagues who made innumerable valuable sug- gestions. Some of them were anonymous reviewers of the initial proposal but Dr. Jackie Colby and Dr. Annette Dula were especially generous in helping me think about feminist methodol- ogy in the health sciences. I have been delighted by the opportunity to work with Paradigm Publishers, whose staff members bring personal as well as professional enthusiasm to the books they publish. I am especially appreciative of the support provided by Dean Birkenkamp, Jason Potter, and Melanie Stafford. Jason Barry and Laura Esterman have worked hard on the supplemented edition. This book would never have been completed without the dedicated work of Audra King, at that time a PhD candidate in the Philosophy Department at the University of Colorado. Audra was involved at every stage of preparing this book, suggesting selections, searching for alternative selections, editing the selections we chose, and pursuing sources and permissions. I hardly know how to express my appreciation for Audra’s vision, resourcefulness, and generosity. Finally, my children and partner David continued to provide encouragement and David also provided much appreciated culinary support. vi Introduction: The Project of Feminist Methodology Methodology is critical and systematic reflection on methods. Methods are the means people use for accomplishing particular tasks. It is possible to reflect critically on the methods people use to do all sorts of things, from building bookcases to training animals. However, the read- ings in this book reflect exclusively on the methods people use to research and produce new knowledge. For the remainder of the book, the terms “methods” and “methodology” will refer only to research methods and to critical reflection on these. Research methods are techniques and strategies for gathering evidence relevant to produc- ing new knowledge in various fields of inquiry. Feminist methodology reflects on these methods from a feminist perspective and with particular reference to research intended to be feminist. It considers the epistemological, ethical, and practical implications of various research methods, as these may have been used or misused in particular disciplines. It also considers the potential of new and possibly less-exploitative methods for developing more-trustworthy knowledge. The collection of essays in this volume is, as a whole, interdisciplinary. Some of the essays result from feminist reflection on particular uses of particular methods within particular disciplines; others are generated by broader epistemological considerations and develop method- ological approaches that may be applicable in a range of disciplinary contexts. Taken together, the essays in this book do not provide a how-to manual for feminist research across disciplines. Rather than replacing disciplinary how-to manuals, the collection is designed to supplement them. It is intended to encourage critical feminist reflection on methodological approaches taken for granted within particular disciplines and to stimulate ideas for alternative approaches.